ABSTRACT
The Canada Health Act sets out the primary objective of Canadian health care policy as it relates to the provision of public services, which is " to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers. Governmental initiatives and policies have begun embracing the term through various implementations such as the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, 1988, and the vast number of existing employment policies focused on enhancing diversity in the workplace. This chapter provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. By focusing on place health diversity intersection in the Canadian context, it provides a uniquely Canadian perspective on diversity and health that is transferable to other contexts. Crook qualitatively explores how the structure and organization of Canada's health care system shapes the experiences of chronically-ill women managing fibromyalgia syndrome.
